The partners will share discovery and development costs and will jointly own intellectual property and commercialization rights for any products developed under the collaboration. HDB will take lead compounds discovered by Marshall University to preclinical development. The partnership aims to provide new medicines for unmet healthcare needs, targeting both international and Chinese markets.

Dr. Xuehai Tan, president and chief executive officer of HD Biosciences, said, "We are very pleased to establish this collaboration with Marshall University. This agreement marks a significant achievement for HDB on the efforts to build the company's long-term growth potential, as well as a demonstration of the recognition by our partners to our expertise and capabilities in drug discovery and development."

According to Dr. Zijian Xie, MIIR's director said, "Normally, it would take tens of millions of dollars and as long as a decade to translate the technology MIIR and the school of medicine have developed over the last several years into viable drug candidates. This joint effort with HD Biosciences will significantly shorten the process because of their expertise in drug discovery, and ultimately will reduce the risk for all the partners.”

Dr. John Maher, Marshall vice president for research, said, "By working together to examine the commercial viability of the disease targets and treatments being developed at MIIR and the medical school, we will be able to accelerate the translation of research from our labs into discoveries that will help improve human health and stimulate economic development."